I'm kind of loving the NY Times' coverage of the US Open this year, and I am really enjoying the blog. Interesting tidbits: Andrei Pavel's emmy-worthy performance as foil to the American hero; TIF (The Immaculate Federer) was the one major player who came over to Donald Young to wish him luck in the locker room; Ljubicic's sorry support; and Federer = what musician?
The future of American tennis may be in the hands of an 18-year old-Californian named Sam Querrey--and not the struggling, but talented Donald Young.
Even as presumed next star Young loses in boys' Wimbledon match, group turns to Evert to lift sagging fortunes. Read the Story
From the Sun-Sentinel (Charles Bricker's blog):
This was perhaps my 10th or 11th meeting with Donald Young and every time you sit down with this kid you come away with such a pastiche of emotions. He's a great teenager, never full of himself, never rude, never elitist. If you're a parent, as I have been for several decades, this is the kid you want to have.
So, it's a pleasure talking to him. Whether it's about his growth (he's now nearly 5-foot-11) or what it was like having been a premie (he was barely two pounds at birth and spent a week in an incubator before going home). And then there's his tennis. At 14, when he was smaller and exhibiting that wonderful range of shots and precocious understanding of the game, I had the same hopes everyone else did that he could develop into a top player.
From ESPN: Young not concerned despite winless record
It was the most thorough drubbing of his short pro career, a 6-0, 6-0 whitewashing in the first round of the Nasdaq-100 Open that took just under 49 minutes Thursday, and kept world junior champion Donald Young Jr. winless on the ATP Tour after nine tries.
An optimist would look at every loss as a learning experience, but at what point will Young stop soaking up knowledge and start feeling like a punching bag?
From ESPN: Young and restless: No. 1 still up for grabs
It appeared to be a foregone conclusion. Donald Young of Atlanta, who had held the International Tennis Federation's No. 1 junior ranking since his January win at the junior Australian Open, was poised to be the youngest player ever to claim the Junior World Championship.
The player closest to Young in the standings, Croatia's 17-year-old Marin Cilic, lost in the third round of the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament last week in Key Biscayne, Fla., and said he was hanging up his racket for the season.
Only the second round of the juniors and Donald Young actually rates AP media coverage:
Even Donald Young was impressed with his 131 mph serve.
"I couldn't play after that," the 16-year-old said.
He did, of course, and his 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory Wednesday over David Navarrete of Venezuela put the tournament's top-seeded player into the third round of the U.S. Open junior boys event...
Young has yet to win a match on the men's professional tour, where he is overpowered by bigger players.
"When I'm up on them, they play better," Young said of the pros he's met. "When I was up two set points in my pro match, they had two big serves. ... In the juniors I get a lot of balls back and make them play."
The Boston Globe has an excellent article on Donald Young today (registration required). In short he really is a normal kid, his parents despite their protests are the proverbial tennis parents, and he does have to deal with the resentment of other junior players about his "chosen one" status and consequently has no friends there: The US's great Young hopeful
He is small. Too small, perhaps.
He is a slender 5 feet 9 inches, bottoming out in gigantic feet that have, somehow, managed to carry all the weight. Not his weight -- he barely swings the needle to 145 pounds -- it's the expectations, the hope that falls on his shoulders and pools down into those size 12 1/2 sneakers. Donald Young is next.
I just happened by the USTA Boys National Tennis Championships website. The singles haven't started yet but I just noticed that Donald Young won his second round doubles match today 6-0, 6-0 with partner Alexander Clayton. Ouch. That's got to be tough on the ego of a junior (I'm going to leave out the names of the poor double bageled team in consideration of their tender years - if they turn pro then we can humiliate them in public).
Winner of the Boys 18s gets a wildcard into the main draw of the U. S. Open. That, if I recall, is how Scoville Jenkins ended up getting steamrolled by Andy Roddick at last year's U. S. Open. If the winner isn't Donald Young, I wonder if he'll get wildcarded into the U. S. Open anyway.
Tennis Magazine has a lengthy excerpt of an article on Donald Young from their August edition posted online: Donald Young: The Throwback
But even a skeptical fan will notice a few other things about the kid. Once a point starts, his movements make sense. He's never off-balance. He hits his looping lefty forehand cleanly every time. His two-handed backhand is effortlessly effective. His kick serve features a gymnastic backbend. Those little quick-steps? They come in handy when he's tracking down a drop shot
The earlier frustration turns out to be the flip side of a stubborn competitive drive. As points wear on, he begins to subtly sucker-punch his bigger-hitting opponent, yanking him across the baseline with spins and angles. He may pull the match out with an unexpected ace or foray to net. He may not, but either way, a fan can't help but wonder: Who is this kid?
Jan-Michael Gambill disposed of Donald Young in his latest wild card attempt at his first ATP victory in Indy today 7-6 (10), 6-2. But hey, Young did make it to a tiebreak, and deep into it at that. So that's an improvement...right?
From the BBC: Young American
The laid-back teenager from Chicago deals easily with the media attention - even if he turns to ask his mother after a round of interviews, "Did I do OK?"...
"But I'm still taking it easy. I will be 16 this year so maybe in about two or three years I could turn pro."
Somebody forgot to tell Donald Young he already turned pro! He's doing all right here though and today defeated Piero Luisi of Venezuela 7-6(8), 6-2 to make it into the quarterfinals.
From The Independent: Young, world's best junior talent, chased the Tiger
There seem to be two types of player which win the boys' singles here at the All England Club. You can be either a Federer, an Edberg or a Cash, or a Whitehouse, Mahut or Mergea. It is Donald Young's intention to bracket himself with the first group...
Yet the sunlit uplands are still some way off. Young has beaten three players in the top 200, but in his first five appearances on the ATP Tour he has yet to win a set.
A growth spurt is required. "It's going to be hard," he said. "Once I get by a couple of matches I'll have a little more confidence.
"They are bigger and more experienced. They never give up. The guy today, once I got up on him he wasn't running for some balls. The professionals never stop running."
So maybe all those ATP losses weren't a total waste of time for Young. He did learn what it will take to succeed as a pro. And check this out - an actual match report from his first round match at Wimbledon. You don't see that too often for a junior. And it's not even an American source.
The good part about turning pro at a young age as a tennis phenom is the oodles of money thrown at you. The bad part is that your losses no longer go unnoticed as Donald Young found out when he lost yesterday at the French Open.
The New York Times has a good article on Young's struggles: Being a Prodigy Has Its Faults (subscription)
Awkward timing for the Donald Young camp as news that he has accepted a wildcard into the RCA Championships in Indianapolis this summer came at the same time news of his first round 1-6, 2-6 loss in a junior tournament in Italy to world junior #46 Pavel Chekhov broke.
I understand taking some wildcards into ATP tournaments, but aren't there any lower-tier tournaments he can get them for? The players at Indy are too good for him to accomplish anything against.
15-year-old Donald Young is playing in a futures tournament in Vero Beach, Florida this week and generating the usual local press.
From tcpalm.com: Young and gifted
Good quotes from the article:
"Unless Donald breaks a leg, decides to quit playing tennis, or something bizarre happens, it's pretty tough to see how this guy doesn't turn into a heck of a player." - United States Tennis Association director of tennis operations Eliot Teltscher
And how does Young feel about losing all five of the matches he played in ATP tournaments this year? "It's not like I'm losing 0 and 0," Young said.
And now the speculation begins. Is Donald Young playing too many professional events (in which he gets his butt kicked)?
From the Washington Post: Professional Tennis at Age 15: Too Much to Young?
He's 15, black, prodigiously talented and competing with men twice his age -- a boy in a man's world.
He isn't D.C. United's Freddy Adu, though the comparison is apt. He is America's latest tennis sensation, a lanky Chicago native named Donald Young Jr., whose list of age-defying accomplishments is breaking barriers.
He's shown an preference for accepting wild cards into professional events recently (and inevitably losing in the first round), but 15-year-old American Donald Young wisely hasn't given up junior events yet.
From The Desert Sun: Young rolls to win at Easter Bowl
Donald Young, the No. 1-ranked junior tennis player in the world, continued his quest to defend his Easter Bowl national title by winning Wednesday at the Riviera Resort and Racquet Club.
Young defeated No. 14 seed Christopher Chirico 6-0, 6-0.
"He was the best player that I've ever been on court with," Chirico said. "I could not do anything. He was amazing."
Young is attempting to make history by becoming the first player to win two 18-and-under Easter Bowl titles.
Young is playing in the Easter Bowl before he begins play next week in the Houston Clay courts, a pro event that starts Monday.
